No, you’re not, Imogen, but I was scared to say anything because such objections usually elicit (often rather smugly expressed) charges of “nuffing” and pretenses that people are going to get popcorn and sit back to watch the commentroversy. I would just ask people to remember that any time you see animals performing some unnatural behavior for the entertainment of humans, you should stop and think about what kind of training it might have taken to produce that behavior. Yes, animals often do things to please humans, but that doesn’t mean they enjoy it themselves. And the more unnatural the behavior (riding a bike and walking on hind legs), the more I suspect coercion, at the least, was involved.

I bet my boxer would ride a trike. Of course she would just use it to terrorize the neighborhood, so I better not get her one. I love that the poodles give the impression that the conga line was *their* idea.

because so many comments like yours land in moderation and get deleted without explanation, here are a few questions you might ponder regarding ALL the domestic and companion animals we love, not just the ones in this video:

is it “natural” for a dog to assist with search and rescue operations?
is it “natural” for dogs to go through extensive training so that blind (and other disabled) people can live better lives?
is it “natural” for dogs to have names and respond when they’re called?

we’re not looking at dancing elephants and bears here.

and if you think dogs can’t walk around on their hind legs, you haven’t left one alone with a pot roast on the kitchen table.

p.s. there are plenty of places where commentroversy on this topic is welcome!

Nice. Thanks. But you’re obfuscating. You seized upon the word “natural” and ignored my point about the kind of training that people who make a profit from animals generally engage in. Use some common sense. And maybe think about why you get so angry over someone standing up for the right of an animal not to be paraded around and laughed at for profit.

you can stand up for animals all you like. you just can’t do it here and in the manner you chose. i objected to your choice of venue and your interpretation of facts. in fact, i elected to approve your comment, just so that we could have a constructive dialogue about why “nuffing” is considered “nuffing.” i delete comments like yours all the time and thought i’d give you the benefit of a discussion about why we don’t encourage debates such as this.

i seize on the concept of natural behaviour in dogs. your point was that the training in this video was cruel, unnatural and for profit and at the expense of the animals’ dignity. i saw no evidence of that. when you use a parental tone like “use some common sense” and “think about why you get so angry,” the discussion doesn’t get us the happy place we try to cultivate here on cuteoverload.

if we can’t find common ground here, i guess i’ll go back to deleting comments with no explanation.

Well, when one dog was removed from the line (rather obnoxiously, I think, because he was lifted by one leg!), he raced to get back into the line as soon as he was released. Seems to me he was in that line for his own reasons, not for the humans’ reasons.

For those of you who were upset by the video(s): Dogs will naturally form conga lines when they are placed one behind the other like that – especially Poodles and Pomeranians. It’s true, I wouldn’t lie.

(stage announcer/ emcee voice)
And now, the gal who REALLY knew how to wear BLING (with bananas):
CARMEN MIRANDA
(in a clip which results when I type “Carmen Miranda” and “Conga” in, on Youtube.
I DO NOT claim truthiness in re. whether this is in fact a Conga vs a Samba vs — Craig Ferguson’s bit here — the “TuttiFrutti”!!!!!!)

I know there are plenty of responsible trainers who have dogs that enjoy doing tricks and live great lives as performers. I just can’t help but get an awful feeling in my stomach watching this video- it reminds me of monkeys or bears dressed up and forced to ‘dance’ so someone can get money. I am in no way accusing this man of being an abusive owner, that is just the first place my mind goes.

(sorry about being so negative today – I don’t come to cuteoverload to complain but I must disagree about the cuteness of the dog videos and the loris one is absolutely criminal. Please don’t remove this)